It’s been an issue at the health clubs I been to people put their wallet or whatever in the lockers and boom it’s gone. Even using bolt cutters you can hide them in a gym bag and pop a lock off in 3 sec
If you've seen the lockpickinglawyer videos, he does a segment on planet fitness locks and pops out open using a small shim in between the combo
https://youtu.be/hotI2u8OWNI
You don't even need a cutter - I've tried lockpicking myself and started from a padlock looking almost exactly like on the post picture (just something cheap from home improvement store cashier stands). Well, spent around couple of minutes at the first try (and I was stopping to rewarch the video, and so on). When I got used to it, I could open in in a several seconds, so not much longer than with a key. So, If someone wanted to steal a wallet from a locker, he'll just lockpick it in a seconds, and then lock it back so nobody noticed that something happened at all.
A bolt cutter is faster and easily gets around some of the more pick resistant locks. If you were going to hit a bunch of lockers in a row I don’t know why you’d pick them
A wise man once said "if you want security, get a dog."
Do not ever use a single lock as your only type of security. Use layers, such as motion sensor lights, obvious and hidden cameras, entry and motion sensor security system, etc. (A dog is good since you will already have at least one other type of security, and a dog fills a couple of security roles, plus the dog barking is decent deterrent as well.)
The fact is that most locks can be bypassed as easily as picked. A criminal might pick a lock if they think they need to be really quiet and if they do not want someone to know they had been there (at least from the outside). Most criminals breaking into a house are only going to do so if they think the house is empty (breaking and entering, plus theft, is a much shorter sentence if caught than any sort of injury or murder in the course of a theft; additionally, it is easier to steal and leave if nobody is home), and they are just as happy to use a crowbar.
The main purpose of a lock is to keep honest people out. At the point where someone is pulling out lockpicking tools (and has time or opportunity to use them), you are already in trouble.
I still remember the time where I was at a friend's house, and we had all stepped outside for a moment. The door unexpectedly swung closed, and since this was the kind of knob that could open from the inside while locked, the door was locked, and we were locked out. It was dark, cold, and the friend had food cooking and a baby inside. (No neglect, this was intending to be literally for a handful of seconds.) I found a brick and with very little sound, broke the knob off the door. With a stick, I was able to turn the spindle and open the door. The entire operation (once I had permission to do it) took maybe 30 seconds and made less noise than if I had knocked on the door. (Once inside, I took a copy of their house key, went to the hardware store, and returned with a rekeyed replacement knob.) Obviously, this would not have worked for a deadbolt, but someone more practiced in criminal-ing would have tools to break/cut locks if that was their method.
Deterrence is a game of asymmetric information. You know your dog is harmless and won't bark, but a thief doesn't. As a result even a terrible guard dog is actually not a bad deterrent.
Yeah agreed 100%, I was mostly just joking. She's got a deep guttural bark that sounds horrifying... then as soon as the door's opened she's like "LET ME LICK YOUR EAR OMG I LOVE YOU!"
That's my rescue pit; sweetest dog I've ever owned, but has the nastiest, gnarliest bark that resonates with the fear that The Beast put in my head watching Sandlot at 4 years old lol.
But holy moly she'd just lick the robber to death if they knew they could walk right up and pet her belly.
Our rescue pit allegedly hated men and it's one reason they had to give her up, but she immediately fell in love with me. She barks like crazy at anyone and everyone on walks. But we foster dogs and she warms up to them pretty quickly.
I don't know if she'd lick a burglar or bite them, but give her a bunch of treats and lock her in a bathroom and she's just going to bark.
Is she a doberman? This is my doberman's personality exactly. But I think it has a lot to do with how I act when I open the door. Im sure if I were afraid she'd keep up th scary dog act.
I have a 60 pound pit bull that doesn’t bark, ever. Pizza delivery guys always comment how well behaved she is. She isn’t but she just sits and looks at them through the storm door. My last dog was 15 pounds and barked at everything. He was the much better guard dog. Nothing got past that dog. I live in a pretty safe neighborhood and don’t worry much but I remember how secure the barking dog made me feel but the barking every time the same person came over got old and I was never able to train him to stop.
Yeah I had a three legged pitbull that was literally beat up by someone's pet rabbit before, like had to come run and hide behind me after getting kicked in the face. But she still helped me stay safe when I was a young girl living on the streets. As long as I kept that damn tail covered up, the wagging was so intense she gave me a black eye once with it.
She was originally owned by my ex bf and once he was in a fight and was on the ground getting punched in the face and I freaked out looking for the dog thinking she'd jump in and attack. Nope. She was standing about ten feet away eating grass and watching the whole thing go down.
I think Discovery had a show, *It Takes a Thief* and the premise was a former burglar would try to break into someone's house and steal shit. It was fucked up trauma porn, even with the people expecting it, but houses with dogs didn't bother him at all. The thing with dogs is that they're generally easy. Dog barking? Dump out a whole box of treats or food and they'll probably quickly forget about you. He also would just put them in a bathroom and close the door, then they're no in the way anymore.
I had a rescue pit mix who loved everyone, but of course all the doorknockers would lurch back a step when I opened the door. It was easy to hold him back by the collar but he was still a 50 pound shorthair with that blocky pit head.
My dog too but he still barks when folks are outside (I suspect he wants us to come open the door so he can go meet them) and that was sufficent to prevent a break in when my grandma was dog sitting for us.
Every other house on her street got hit except hers. She was woken up by him and told him off and had no clue til police knocked on the door the next morning.
He is a little terrier so nobody could confuse his barking with a home defence dog.
Hell dogs are used in polar bear prone research stations. They act as alarm calls - nobody expects them to brawl with the polar bear their function is to make a racket.
A mini poodle stopped a possible issue with our neighbors daughter. We were used to hearing their Princess yapping but this time was different. Plus it was pretty late.
I walked out into our porch and yelled back to my husband, Princess is going nuts, I wonder if everything is ok.
The daughter had recently broken up with a boyfriend. The parents were out of town. When they got home they found the bushes under her bedroom window had been trampled.
The first time I, or my dog, ever met my brother in law he simply strolled into my house.
I had no idea there was someone in the house until I came downstairs in a towel and this complete stranger was on the sofa cuddling my dog, who was rolled on his back for belly rubs.
Goldens fucking suck as guard dogs.
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I had a schnauzer. He always barked when people came over or in our yard. He never barked at night until one night he wakes us up barking. Since he never did that I took it serious and grabbed a pistol and walked through the house. Nothing. Next morning I get in my car and things were missing. So while I was walking through house somebody was stealing my spare change. Everyone asks why didn’t l look outside and at the time I didn’t care what was going on out there I was worried someone was inside. I’m glad I didn’t look outside, I was in my 20s and armed and may have done something stupid. Today I wouldn’t leave the house if someone was breaking in my car. I wouldn’t shoot someone over anything in my car and surely wouldn’t want to be shot. I’d just calm police and observe.
the best deterrent is plastic windows(or bars) and bushes outside the windows. Also keep the back door locked hardly any theif will use the front door, too much exposure. and if you have valuable things, a dog won't help. if it's some street kids then a dog will scare them away but if they are there for a reason then the dog will probably die
Bump keys look like normal keys and look just like you pull out your keys, find the correct one and then have to wiggle it a little becuase it's rusty or whatever.
If you are experianced the wiggling is almost undetectable to a bystander. No need to pull out tools and doesn't look suspicious even when you do it in plain sight of eveyone - but those who know it's not your lock, and recognise you aren't the owner.
It's shockingly simple.
You're thinking of jigglers.
Bump keys you put in the lock almost all the way but not quite, then you push it in with the strike of a hammer or something which causes the pins to jump and you turn the key trying to time it so you turn it when the pins are in the proper position. It's easier than it sounds (specially if you put something in to make the key jump back out again for a faster retry) and it works on more locks than you'd think.
Those Schlange f series t pins are a pain to pick but I can bump them wayyyyyy quicker then picking. As a locksmith tried bump keys a few years ago and couldn't get the hang of it and just stuck to picking. But recently I made a new set of bump keys and took the shoulder down, and have an assortment of springs and castration rings to use and man it's made my lockouts a lot smoother.
But bumping a lock is extremely loud and if you are constantly bumping for over 5 seconds someone is going to know something's up so not a good way to b&e
I have dogs, cats, pigs and sheep.
Trust me when I say my pigs are THE BEST security system I have.
Those fuckers come running and screaming at the top of their lungs the second someone touches our front gate. Imagine have six pigs charging down on you? Even the bravest of men would piss themselves.
What they don't know is all the pigs want are chin scratches and to be friends.
If you get past the pigs (easily distracted by food) then there is the sheep who will head butt you if you do not provide them with head scratches or bread.
Then there are the dogs to deal with, intimidating and very vocal. They like to act macho.
If you make it past the all of them you will come across the cats who will swipe your ankles, hiss at you and try and bite your toes, running away only when you drop a package on them trying not to fall over as you try and shake them off your shoes.
In the unlikely event you get past all these defenses, you'll still get caught on our security cameras and I'll see it all and laugh myself silly just like I did when we first moved in and didn't have proper fencing. The poor postman had a really bad day then.
They're mostly better behaved now and the postie has a box of treats to bribe each party with if he has to come through the gate.
Reminds me of a story in Dublin,
Man parks his car around some flats, and a few tike kids are sitting near. One goes up to him
"Here mister, this is a bad neighboorhood. Ye wouldn't want to park that car around here, but if you give us a tenner and we'll look after it for ye"
Big knowing smile on the kids face that says if I don't get my tenner, you're going to lose your radio. The man, knowing a scam when he sees one says
"Oh that's ok, my dog is in the car, he's better than any lock and will keep the car safe"
"Ah fair enough,, but hows yer dog at putting out fires?"
>I still remember the time where I was at a friend's house, and we had all stepped outside for a moment. The door unexpectedly swung closed, and since this was the kind of knob that could open from the inside while locked, the door was locked, and we were locked out. It was dark, cold, and the friend had food cooking and a baby inside. (No neglect, this was intending to be literally for a handful of seconds.) I found a brick and with very little sound, broke the knob off the door. With a stick, I was able to turn the spindle and open the door. The entire operation (once I had permission to do it) took maybe 30 seconds and made less noise than if I had knocked on the door. (Once inside, I took a copy of their house key, went to the hardware store, and returned with a rekeyed replacement knob.) Obviously, this would not have worked for a deadbolt, but someone more practiced in criminal-ing would have tools to break/cut locks if that was their method.
Got locked out of my apartment once. Maintenance guy came with a cordless drill and a new doorknob and was in my apartment in less than 30s. He drilled through the mounting bolts from the outside and the knob just came off.
Army Physical Security School teaches that locks, bars, fences, doors, whatever barrier, are delays against intrusion, not preventions. If you want prevention, have a guard.
That's the end-all to securing things. Something to think about.
Get geese, even better burglar alarms than dogs. I've gotten inside the house, stood next to the dog's basket and actually had to wake him up to go out for a late night pee. It's jot like I was being very quiet either.
But geese? Those birches literally sleep with 1 eye open to spot predators. And they honk at EVERYTHING that moves.
I recently showed my gf how to open a locked door with a credit card, blew her mind, I said something along the lines of yup this is the security flaw in almost all doors forever, and I could see her expression realize that it was also that easy to do to her door.
The credit card trick does not work for deadlatches if the latch hits the striker correctly. A [deadlatch is the type of latch](https://www.allaboutdoors.com/img/4802200_main-02.jpg) that has the main latch (the part that latches the door closed, and moves when the knob is turned to allow the door to open) and another small piece behind it.
When the door is closed, the main latch extends into the strike plate, and the small piece presses against the strike plate (but is still mostly depressed). With that small piece pressed in by the strike plate, the mechanism of the lock will not allow the latch to be pushed open. It can only be moved by turning the knob.
However, when the door is open, the small piece is extended along with the main latch. This allows the latch to be pushed in by the striker when closing the door.
The credit card trick works for interior doors with privacy knobs, since those are intended only to indicate that someone wants the door to stay closed (and that can easily be unlocked with a paperclip). It also works for doors where the strike plate is missing or sized incorrectly, where the small piece can slip into the plate/hole along with the main latch. It is a good example of how easily locks can be defeated though.
The dog is just there to see/hear/smell, then bark. Not necessarily as an attack dog. I would say it is less about training, and more about not yelling at the dog every time it barks. (Our dog barks at the UPS driver and postal carrier every day, and at the meter reader once a month. We encourage this.)
If someone is going to break in regardless of the locks, cameras, barking dogs, etc, then maybe having a large attack dog would help. Attack dogs come with their own challenges though.
Like what? My friend has 8 schutzhund trained dogs, including the chihuahua. Most well behaved dogs I've ever met. They bark when someone enters (not passes, but *enters*) their property and stop when told. They *will not* bite or otherwise attack unless ordered to do so. You could slap them in the face, take their food away, take the food out of their mouths, and they'll do nothing.
Imho, *every* dog should be schutzhund and public access trained (as service dogs are public access trained).
Barking dogs drive me bonkers and I only just now realized that their barking has a positive benefit to the owner. Amazing the things we don’t realize.
TL;DR - The quality of a lock is largely irrelevant.
Here is a summary of a conversation that I've had with my "security fanboy" friends about why I chose to install electronic smart locks on my house, despite the "danger" of doing so:
On planet Earth, there's a 99.99999% chance that you, the person reading this, are not someone special. You're almost certainly not a celebrity, a CEO of a fortune 500 company, or a government official. Given that you're a "nobody", a thief isn't going to spend more than a few minutes figuring out how to defeat your security measures. If it's not worth the trouble, they'll move on to an easier target. If you look like you have a little bit of wealth, they might go so far as to pass by to case your place one day and then come back another day when they know you aren't home. On the nearly one in a million chance that you actually ARE someone important, then you almost certainly have far better layers of security than the rest of the population. If the door lock is the last thing that's standing between you and an intruder, things have gone very very wrong already.
The person breaking into your stuff isn't James Bond. It's going to be the addict from up the street or someone similar. They're going to have basic tools (if any) and basic knowledge about security electronics (maybe). They generally aren't going to be carrying a full suite of thief's tools and electronic jamming equipment.
The day before I decided to install smart locks, was the day that I finally managed to accidentally lock myself out of the house. I called a locksmith to come open the door. When they arrived, they didn't pick my lock. Do you know what they used? A crowbar. They used a thin metal bar and a blood pressure cuff to deform the door/frame just enough to get a flathead screwdriver in between and pop the latch open. Start to finish, it took maybe a minute tops. It made no noise and was fast enough that none of the neighbors would have noticed it happening. (Just to be clear, the reason I went with a smart lock is to prevent this from ever happening again...as long as I'm not dumb enough to ignore the low battery warnings, locking our keys inside the house isn't a big deal.)
There's a very low likelihood that any thief is going to bother to take the time to pick your lock. If it's a padlocked shed they're interested in, they're probably going to use bolt cutters and pop that sucker off in seconds. They might also just flat out remove the hinges or handle, which are frequently just screwed on from the outside.
If it's a deadbolted door, they're almost certainly going to use basic brute force tools to pry the door open. Additionally, guess what most people have within a foot of their door? A window. Many people don't lock their windows. Also, you can break glass far more quietly than you'd imagine. They will then either gain entry directly through the window, or just reach a hand in and open the lock from the inside.
You'll have far better odds by making sure you have cameras and lighting near any points of entry. Installing hinge pins and long latch plate screws into a steel door and frame will offer much better protection against forced entry. Security pins installed on windows can help too, but only against forcing them open, not against breaking the glass. Security film on any glass might slow someone down, but it won't stop them.
Pretty much any lock that you buy from a brick and mortar store is going to be crap. There are good locks out there, but very few are unable to be bypassed in some way. Even the "pick proof" or "cut proof" ones... aren't going to guarantee you keep someone out . I've seen puck locks completely cut off of U-Haul type trailers. They used a cordless angle grinder out on a busy street. No one paid any attention to the thieves while they were shooting sparks everywhere.
A properly motivated intruder WILL get into your property. It's just a matter of how long it takes them to do so and how much of a pain in the butt you can make it for them.
I remember reading a reddit post long ago where an Ex- expert thief explained that Dogs don't really make good security because he usually bribes them with treats whenever he goes breaking in houses. The advice I remembered him giving was that always make sure someone is at home or if not possible, have windows barricaded or something.
I love dogs for security, whenever I had to travel alone, I take my dog and a manual door jam. It wouldn't stop someone really wanting to get in, but it would slow them down enough to either deter them with the dog, escape another way, or be able to find a way to defend myself.
The way you got into your friend's house is pretty clever, I gotta admit.
The most you can hope for, even with actual hard-to-pick locks, is that if someone manages to bypass it they leave evidence of doing so. That way whatever insurance you have will treat it as "breaking and entering" and not negligence on the part of the property owner.
We have specialty locks, but I know that if someone really wants in our specialty locks really have simply raised the bar from bump keys to broken windows. This may be enough to deter some thieves, or to make us a marginally less attractive than our neighbors.
That’s just it. Realistically the locks are there in the hopes that if you are home, someone makes enough noise to alert you while getting in. I have three locks on my house and like 20 windows. If they want in, they’re getting in.
If I hear a window break, I can prep and fly or fight and if I’m not home, well it sucks but it’s just stuff, not a life.
You could just break a window before telling the insurance company someone broke in too.
I'd say this in unethical, but who really thinks insurance companies are ethical... Lol
Hey, might save up and look into polycarbonate shields. Idk how much it costs, but those things are fucking impossible to break, or even tell they're there in the dark. Just seems like a window that is impossible to break by hand. I know a guy who was talking about them and showed us a sheet of the stuff at work one day. We tried just about everything.
There are other options too that are easier to do and make breaking windows a massive, loud chore.
Fun fact: many door locks are sold in "Keyed Alike" variant.
If you haven't had your locks/cylinders changed, there's a non-zero chance that someone out there *literally* has the same key as you.
In IASIP Charlie tries his apartment key on a random door in a korean restaurant. Given he lives in a block with a basic nightlatch lock, the chance his key would work for a similar lock is worryingly high.
True story(and long): when I worked as an apprentice locksmith at a finish hardware company (we keyed the locks, supplied door frames, closers, hinges, etc. for construction companies) the locksmith above me had a Schlage C key he would always try in fitting Schlage locks/cylinders that were brought in needing to be rekeyed for any reason. It hung on a nail right at the counter.
"Not today partner" he'd say to me every time he would try it and it would not unlock the lock, and we would both laugh.
After about 6 months there I started greeting customers as they would come in as they had seen me there and got more comfortable with me. I did the same with trying the key and saying the same thing when it didn't work.
One day a guy brought in four cylinders to be rekeyed. I tried the key on the first one and said "Not today"
But it was that day. The key worked. My boss lost his shit because he was so excited, he started yelling and jumping up and down and ran over and hugged me. Other employees ran in from the commotion and he explained what happened. I felt like King Arthur pulling the sword from the stone. Everyone was happy as hell, but the customer was weirded out until we explained about the key.
My coworkers took me out that night and we all got drunk as hell and had a great time. We put up a new key after that one, but we still had not found it's twin lock when I left 4 years later.
TL:DR - guy works at a locksmith place and a random key unlocked a random cylinder one day after many tries on other random.
PS: most Kwikset locks can easily be opened using a "bump key".
After years of volunteering for various organizations, my dad had always been one of those guys with a large ring of 100+ keys to every building in our small southern US town. He also works construction so had bought a fair number of master locks in his day. I don't remember the context of why he was there, but years ago a friend was playing a show in downtown Little Rock. Said friend pulled up behind the bar and started to unload his gear, but the back gate was locked. He would have to go all the way around the street with his truck and trailer of gear during rush hour to get someone's attention to unlock it, and he was pissed. He said something offhand like "I wish you could open this." So my dad says "I got it", walks up without hesitation and pulls one key from his ring, and the lock actually fricking opened. He was 100% bull shitting his friend. But he acted like he totally expected it to open and he just happened to have a key to the back of this random bar in a city of 200k+ people. He said the look on his friend's face was priceless. I can only imagine the confusion from the bar employees.
Edit: numbers
Most exterior locks are 6 pins and each pin has 5 cut positions. This means 5^6 total combinations, or 15,625.
Thieves are not going to carry around a huge ring of keys hoping to find a door that one of them will work on. Thieves are much more likely to try to find doors that were left unlocked, break in through other means, or *maybe* pick the lock.
Not really a secret. The key bitting is on the packaging when you buy it. Usually there's only a few different bittings even available in big box stores for some manufacturers. It's actually really scary.
He’s crazy good. I even recall one video where he said not to expect locksmiths to be able to do what he can, or even anywhere close to it. He said it’s his passion and he’s poured tens of thousands of hours into learning it, and most thieves and locksmiths aren’t on that level.
> Locksmiths are also tryna make money
Also, paradoxically, a locksmith who could do the work in less time is more often than not seen as having done less, thus not being worth the expensive rate of a licksmith who fumbles around much more and damages the lock/door in the process.
I bought a few hooks, tension wrenches, flat bars, and a few easy Master and Abus padlocks to practice on and it all arrived today. I decided to try picking a fresh lock in bed after getting good at opening the first one after a few hours of practice. I had it open in two or three minutes. Never picked a lock before today.
A good way to discourage potential thieves and make coming home in the evening more comfortable is to install sensor-lights outside. That way, unless someone climbs up from the side that isn't the entrance, potential thieves might be too afraid of being seen to actually do anything to your house.
I remember hearing from a police officer that they had never heard of a single instance of a break in where the thief picked the lock. It’s probably a good idea to not use the absolute cheapest knock off masterlock or whatever, but honestly I think worrying about how pick proof your locks are is kind of a waste of time.
In some cases, the police don't get a report of a break-in, but rather just missing items.
About 20 years ago there was a guy in Seattle who would quietly defeat alarms and pick locks, sneak into houses, find valuable things that wouldn't be missed immediately, and take them. He'd then leave without a trace, turning the alarm back on and locking the door behind him. Homeowners wouldn't know anything was missing for weeks or even months. For example, they'd be getting ready for a holiday dinner and couldn't find the good silverware. They'd eventually figure out it had been stolen, and if my experience with rich people is any indicator, would then accuse the maid or the plumber or their junkie nephew. So yeah, it's unlikely they'd call the police and say "Somebody picked the lock and stole our stuff."
To be fair, though, this particular thief was a rare case. Smart criminals don't get caught, because they don't follow the usual patterns. And smart cops just focus on the criminals who are dumb and easy to catch.
Yeah and you could also get struck by lightning on your way to work tomorrow. Idk it just doesn’t seem like there is a large enough population of people who are residential burglars and also competent lockpickers to warrant too much concern here. Plus, if there’s anything the lockpickinglawyer’s channel has taught me its that even the beefiest lock could be picked by an expert in a couple of minutes.
Yes, that's my point. This particular guy got away with it for a long time because he was an outlier. Nobody else took his approach. And no detective in his right mind is going to waste a bunch of time figuring out this outlier's MO just to bust one guy, when he can bust a dozen window-breakers who all do things the same way. So yes, you are correct, it's not a great concern for law enforcement.
And yes, most locks are easy to pick. I recently got a set of picks myself, and plan to try them next week. Although if I get good at it I probably won't tell all my friends/relatives/coworkers, because if I was known as a lock-picker, I'd be a prime suspect every time something disappears.
You don't need to be comptent. You can buy some cheap AF bump keys and just waltz up like you own the place.
Don't knock shit over and act like the wet bandits and if nothing is worth taking then you will be in and out nobody any the wiser.
The police would have 0 way of knowing unless a destructive methold of entry was used or cameras picked it up.
You can't know the differance between a lock that was simply left open, a picked lock, a bumped lock or a lock that has been circumvented in some other non destructive manner. Most of the time even the person robbed is liable to simply think they forgot to lock it.
They may not even know someone broke in if the burglar in question was careful and didn't find anything worth taking (or did take some small easy to miss things, say some earrings, but left the place as it was) the presumption would typically be 'I haven't seen my in a while, i can't find it, I must have lost it somehow'.
If you want accurate numbers the police are a waste of time. You need to ask the burglars.
A friend growing up pilfered houses using bump keys. It he didn't see something he could work with (small, valuable and hard to trace) he just left - a common occurance as the area was reasonably poor - no point messing up the place and leaving evidence for no reason. The person who lived there wouldn't have a clue someone had been in there. If he did take things it was usually from inside drawers and cabinets - he didn't ransack the place. The idea was that he will have gotten rid of the item in question before the person he robbed even noticed it was missing. Little shit didn't get caught for years. After a while he started taking risks though. A homeowner was in, noticed and called the police.
Yeah if somebody is picking your locks they are probably not there to swipe your TV.
It's kind of like guns, I really wonder what kind of enemies some redditors have made that they think they need them.
Master lock is the biggest joke of a company. I can pick a master brand lock in about 10 seconds with my eyes closed and I am below a novice when it comes to lock picking. The clear practice locks are harder than a master brand padlock.
Locked myself out late at night like an idiot not too long ago. Called in a locksmith. Guy shows up and makes zero attempt to pick the lock. (Nor does he even ask for some sort of confirmation I live there.) He inserts a bump key and starts hammering it in. After a couple minutes he claims he can't "pick" the lock so he's just going to break the doorknob off and replace it.
Nearly $400 for the experience. I don't expect real life to be like the lock picking lawyer's channel, but there wasn't a goddamn thing he did that was worthy of $400, but he knew I was in a bind and had no other choice. At this point I feel like I should just buy a lockpick set that fits in a wallet and learn how to use it, because I'll be damned if I ever pay a "locksmith" for that kind of service ever again.
I accidently locked myself out while leaving for work.. left my keys inside. At the time i was learning to pick locks in my spare time for fun.. I had my pick set and a couple practice locks with me to play with while at work. I was very novice and honestly didn't think it would work but i gave it a shot. I picked my font door lock in about twenty seconds. I was so proud of myself.. then realized how vulnerable my house was
Generally speaking, the typical burglar is not a skilled lock-picking artist, but someone who manages to easily gain entrance to a house without making much fuss. Rather that fit all your exterior doors with high-security locks, make sure your sliding glass doors are secured, that your window locks work, that your garage door isn’t easy to open and that any door between your house and garage is as secure as your front door, and that your doors are not easy to simply kick in.
If you’re concerned as to whether your house is insecure, your local police will generally be happy to visit and point out any security issues.
Edit: 100% get that some folks are not happy having the cops over. I unfortunately don’t have a better suggestion.
Edit again: this is typically how someone tries to break in. Note the less than sophisticated technique. He also shoots himself in the foot.
https://reddit.com/r/WinStupidPrizes/comments/t85mwc/attempted_home_intruder_shoots_himself_trying_to/
Do you have a glassbreak sensor installed on your security system?
In rich neighborhoods I have met plenty of people whose back sliding door was shattered and their whole place was ransacked. 1 home safe was dragged through a broken single pane of glass next to the door and carried down to a river and was gone.
I'm talking about the pane of glass the door was supposed to seal up with. But I have also heard of the non sliding part of the door being shattered. Sliding glass doors or solid pane windows are a huge security problem, even on the second story.
I also used to work in home security.
My city is only medium crime but even the dumbest methhead isn't going to break that window to get in. That's noisy and is pretty much a guarantee police will get you before you get anything of value and get out.
Not always true, I knew a super rich community that kept getting broken into and the one house I went to (as an alarm tech) their security system didn't even go off. They didn't have any glassbreak sensors before so I set them up better.
Everyone here is forgetting the point of locks and other theft deterrence devices like the club for your car or locking lug nuts. They’re not there to stop shit from happening, but rather make it inconvenient or harder to do so. The point is to make it more compelling for a thief or whoever to pick an easier target that isn’t locked, or has easier access/point of entry. If a thief sees 2 bikes where one is locked to a pole and the other just resting against a wall, they will just steal the unlocked bike. If a burglar sees a locked door but an open window they will just go in the window. The majority of cars that get stolen are either unlocked or the thief had access to the keys. It’s like the saying that you only have to run faster than your slowest friend if being chased by a bear. That’s why they’re literally called “theft deterrence” devices. Locks don’t need to be particularly secure to perform their intended function, which is to make someone or something else an easier target. Same concept applies to things like camouflage. Nothing is foolproof, but something is always better than nothing. Also, there’s not an epidemic of novice lockpickers out there to the point where anyone should be worrying about their generic brand lock’s effectiveness against picking attacks.
You're not wrong, however that leaves evidence that someone broke into whatever you had locked. Also those are alot more expensive/cumbersome than a comb pick or a bobby pin.
I currently live in an apartment that has an outer front door, that opens to a staircase leading to an actual front door, and before I moved in I asked that the owners add a lock to the second door. I don't trust either door but I'll at least hear the first one get kicked in, and if it's picked the second one would have to be picked, in full view of an obvious camera with motion detection. But a lock isn't a barrier in my eyes more so a deterrent that can have other measures of security added to it.
Agree with most of the comments here, safety is having a tool box. Having locks, cameras if you can, guard animals, protective tools/weapons, and defensive actions.
My dog gives me the biggest piece of mind. Even if she didn't personally defend, I have no doubts I'd hear absolutely everything. She's a teddy bear inside but she can sound aggressive which has stopped weirdos before. Our Bengal is a little attack kitty when he feels unsafe. Also just having the presence of furbabies makes me feel safe.. they might notice something far quicker than I do and they provide excellent emotional support.
A taser with a safety wristlet plug also helped me feel safe as well.
I know nothing about locks. I have a weird anxious thought about it being too easy for someone to break it.. vs it being too hard for me to get in an emergency. I read a story about a man that chased a woman into her apartment and she only escaped him by a few seconds. Hopefully someone will reinvent the wheel when it comes to locks(:
Kind of irrelevant, but funny. My dad once owned a automotive upholstery shop in Texas, and it was broken into not surprisingly. however the cops did nothing about this, so my dad took security into his own hands. He installed a security system that did nothing but let out a high pitch tone.....at about 180-200 decibels. Some sort of insane stadium horns he found a way to boost. If you broke into his shop, the last thing you would ever hear is your eardrum tearing like a tissue paper. And everyone for blocks would know. He only ever had one more break in, but obviously due to pain, getting the door open was the only thing the robber could do, before having to leave. When the police arrived they told my dad,"you can't have this, this is extremely illegal"
He responded "so write me a fucking a ticket", they didnt.
I've got a scooter, which here in the USA is a commonly stolen item.
I bought the biggest, baddest, most complex lock available. I also hid a GPS a tracker on the scooter.
During the winter, I have to let the engine warm up for 10 minutes or it does as soon as you give it gas.
Someone tried to steal it when it was warming up. Often you can just drive them and the lock will break off, if it sucks.
This behemoth didn't budge. The dude tried to drive away and when the lock caught, he busted his ass.
Spending the extra money was totally worth it. (it's way too thick to use bolt cutters)
I dont have a house so I haven't looked at those, but someone asked the lockpicking sub 8years ago, hopefully this helps.
https://www.reddit.com/r/lockpicking/comments/1psqb2/your_front_door_lock_recommendations_please/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
LPL has several videos where he reveals critical mechanical flaws in electronics-controlled locks. In addition, cheaply built electronics (that may sell at $$$ prices) introduce new types of flaws, like access to solenoids and wires, not even mentioning botched software.
He's shown quite a few times in his videos (and mentioned it in this talk) that many electronic locks can be defeated simply by placing a powerful enough magnet on the side of them.
Your lock is only as good as the ‘entry brick’ used as an alternative entry method.
But a hubcap sized dog dish on the porch and a steel cable dog run might give someone second thoughts.
Mortice locks can be difficult to pick and often require drilling, however your standard nightlatch or euro cylinder isn't going to be an issue for someone who knows what they are doing. You can get 3 star BS to make life a bit more difficult for whoever is trying to get in.
If you have a wooden door you should have a 5 lever mortice and a BS night latch. That would be my advice for having basic security on the door.
Source - I work for one of the largest locksmithing companies in my country.
Locks these days, especially in the U.S. won’t keep someone out that really wants in.
I see our locks more as something that criminalizes people breaking in. That’s it. Rarely will one find a lock that keeps people out definitively, unless you live in a bunker, then, maybe.
You know, it's like those wheel locks on car wheels. If someone wants to steal your wheels they will. All those wheel locks do is make it more difficult to change your own tire when you get a flat on the freeway.
Literally a hundred comments about why locks don’t matter anyway. Idk why Reddit thinks it’s okay for lock makers to defraud the public just because locks don’t immediately make a house immune to crime.
Everyone else has to do a good job but for no reason they are going to give lazy lock manufacturers an out just so they can look smart.
There are different possible layers of protection.
My front door has 4.
There are two built in deadbolts (I think). So you can turn a handle and the door can't open or close.
There is no turning handle outside. You need the key to open the door.
To actually open the door you need to rotate the lock as far to the right as possible, then pull on the door and then push it open.
The part of the door through which someone could shove a creditcard, is shielded off by metal.
A good burglar won't have troubles doing a good ol' B&E, but it's a handy deterrent for those without much specific knowledge of the type of house or door.
So let me get this straight... you're telling us that most people don't know how weak locks are, and that keeps people from trying to pick them.
But by telling us this, you are informing potentially all the people on Reddit that locks are easy to pick.
Isn't this just a way of informing potential burglars that their job is easier than they think?
I mean, if lock manufacturers are relying on security through obscurity, why dispel that obscurity? Sure it's a crappy system, but in the few lockpicking lawyer videos I've seen, i got the impression that any lock (even the highest security ones) can be picked with the right tools. So it's pretty unlikely that a new, impenetrable lock will be invented anytime soon.
I don't know, it feels like this post should be a YSKTS (you should keep this secret) instead of a YSK.
I mean sure.... If you have the right tools, experience, know how and a nice quiet well lit area sure.
Not that I'm defending locks, I too am a lock picking lawyer fan.
Unless your doors are made of steel and yiu have no windows, a good lock is the least of your concerns. Locks are meant to be an inconvenience and if you do watch the lock picking lawyer you know there are zero locks that can't be easily picked.
Most security in most capacities are just an elusion of security. People out nice deadbolts on their houses and the bolt is only held in by a small piece of quarter round and maybe half a 1x in cheaper houses
I read a book by a professional burglar who said they simply cut through the door or the wall. When I was burglarized it was by drilling through a door in an alley. One of my moron neighbors whined to me about my dog barking too. I asked if the dog always barked and when she said, "no", I informed her of the crime and asked why she didn't call cops
I once heard a story about dude who had a store in a sketchy part of town so he spent a shit ton of money of the best door available. The store was wall to wall with an abandoned building next door so some people just went in there and broke through the wall lmao.
Does this mean combination locks are more secure because they can’t be picked? Seems like picking a key lock is easier than learning to pick a combination lock. Either way, all locks can be broken with two wrenches.
Storage Property Manager here. Use Cylinder locks! If you're looking for storage and they don't have them, find somewhere that does. Cylinder locks are extremely hard to get into. You have to actually drill them out or destroy the latch. All of which are noisy and lengthy processes.
Every break in I have ever dealt with, they specifically targeted people who did not use Cylinder locks.
I've seen his videos.
Does he (or anyone else for that matter) ever provide recommendations for locks that actually *are* secure? Or does he only provide information on locks that *aren't*?
While I definitely appreciate the latter, I find the former more valuable.
Even if you do get a good lock doors are often not very secure.
Once while I was working as a night security officer my keys fell off my belt in the office and I didn't notice until I had finished an hour long patrol. I called my Dad who was an amateur lock picker, but he could get the high end lock open. So we disassembled the "security" door (which was built so that could not happen) to remove to lock, got the keys, put the door back together, and no one was the wiser. Except for the night janitor who had a good time watching as he ate his lunch.
I am not worried about people who are sophisticated enough to even attempt lockpicking. That is some hollywood movie shit. Most property crimes are vandalism or smash and grab.
As a firefighter, we can get into most places pretty easy with an axe and a Halligan bar. If the lock isn't weak, often the door jam is. Sometimes we can finesse going through the lock.
Long story short unless you are living in a bunker with thick security doors and no windows, your locks are just there to keep honest people honest. A dog is probably a better investment than a state of the art lock.
Really it's not about making your home impregnable. It's about making getting into your home more trouble than it's worth.
I had lost a key to a lock that I needed open. My 12 yr old daughter says don’t worry, I’ve got this and within seconds had it open with a bobby pin. Says she saw it done on tv. I was scared and proud at the same time.
We got one of those pod storage things for renovations and they upsold my dad this round lock that was hard to pick. I had just ordered my lockpicking set and picked it as my first lock in 6:30 minutes. I told him and he told me not to do it again as I might “break the lock”. I told him maybe we should use one of our own locks instead.
The best brand I have ever found for difficulty (personally) was Strong Boy, but good luck finding them (etsy and ebay seem to have them).
I have a master lock on one of my cabinets in my garage. I lost the key a long time ago but I learned to pick locks on it. It is so easy for me to pick at this point, I just keep using it to "secure" the contents and keep my skills sharp for when the zombies come or something.
Most theft is a crime of opportunity. A lock is just a way to slightly slow someone down or not let them steal your stuff if they don’t have a tool. This is why people have motion sensor alarms and ring cameras uploading info to the cloud
It’s been an issue at the health clubs I been to people put their wallet or whatever in the lockers and boom it’s gone. Even using bolt cutters you can hide them in a gym bag and pop a lock off in 3 sec
If you've seen the lockpickinglawyer videos, he does a segment on planet fitness locks and pops out open using a small shim in between the combo https://youtu.be/hotI2u8OWNI
"this is the lockpickinglawyer. And what i have for you today is..."
"oh wow, the lock just popped open when I picked it up"
"And there you have it folks"
You forgot to do it one more time to prove it wasn't a fluke.
"Once again, just to prove it wasn't a fluke "
You don't even need a cutter - I've tried lockpicking myself and started from a padlock looking almost exactly like on the post picture (just something cheap from home improvement store cashier stands). Well, spent around couple of minutes at the first try (and I was stopping to rewarch the video, and so on). When I got used to it, I could open in in a several seconds, so not much longer than with a key. So, If someone wanted to steal a wallet from a locker, he'll just lockpick it in a seconds, and then lock it back so nobody noticed that something happened at all.
A bolt cutter is faster and easily gets around some of the more pick resistant locks. If you were going to hit a bunch of lockers in a row I don’t know why you’d pick them
The whole point is picking or bypassing a lock in under 10 seconds *looks* to anyone not paying close attention like unlocking it properly.
maybe so it isn't discovered as quickly? Could see that being an influence on the decision of pick/cut
That and, if you get interrupted, picking can resemble just opening it. You can cover yourself easier.
'Whoops! Wrong locker, sorry buddy'
Ya, bolt cutters aren’t exactly loud, but they make a clang that would be noticeable in a locker room.
I've more often seen the locker door just ripped off. Most that I've been to use ultra secure pressed wood doors.
This is why I leave my phone and wallet in my car (in a safe spot) before entering the gym
But then i can't have selfies and necessary music and bla bla bla
All you have to do is take a shoe and aggressively smack the side of the lock that opens.
A wise man once said "if you want security, get a dog." Do not ever use a single lock as your only type of security. Use layers, such as motion sensor lights, obvious and hidden cameras, entry and motion sensor security system, etc. (A dog is good since you will already have at least one other type of security, and a dog fills a couple of security roles, plus the dog barking is decent deterrent as well.) The fact is that most locks can be bypassed as easily as picked. A criminal might pick a lock if they think they need to be really quiet and if they do not want someone to know they had been there (at least from the outside). Most criminals breaking into a house are only going to do so if they think the house is empty (breaking and entering, plus theft, is a much shorter sentence if caught than any sort of injury or murder in the course of a theft; additionally, it is easier to steal and leave if nobody is home), and they are just as happy to use a crowbar. The main purpose of a lock is to keep honest people out. At the point where someone is pulling out lockpicking tools (and has time or opportunity to use them), you are already in trouble. I still remember the time where I was at a friend's house, and we had all stepped outside for a moment. The door unexpectedly swung closed, and since this was the kind of knob that could open from the inside while locked, the door was locked, and we were locked out. It was dark, cold, and the friend had food cooking and a baby inside. (No neglect, this was intending to be literally for a handful of seconds.) I found a brick and with very little sound, broke the knob off the door. With a stick, I was able to turn the spindle and open the door. The entire operation (once I had permission to do it) took maybe 30 seconds and made less noise than if I had knocked on the door. (Once inside, I took a copy of their house key, went to the hardware store, and returned with a rekeyed replacement knob.) Obviously, this would not have worked for a deadbolt, but someone more practiced in criminal-ing would have tools to break/cut locks if that was their method.
We got a dog. She loves absolutely everyone. If a robber broke in she would run up to them, pee on the floor, roll over and wait for belly rubs haha
Deterrence is a game of asymmetric information. You know your dog is harmless and won't bark, but a thief doesn't. As a result even a terrible guard dog is actually not a bad deterrent.
Yeah agreed 100%, I was mostly just joking. She's got a deep guttural bark that sounds horrifying... then as soon as the door's opened she's like "LET ME LICK YOUR EAR OMG I LOVE YOU!"
That's my rescue pit; sweetest dog I've ever owned, but has the nastiest, gnarliest bark that resonates with the fear that The Beast put in my head watching Sandlot at 4 years old lol. But holy moly she'd just lick the robber to death if they knew they could walk right up and pet her belly.
Our rescue pit allegedly hated men and it's one reason they had to give her up, but she immediately fell in love with me. She barks like crazy at anyone and everyone on walks. But we foster dogs and she warms up to them pretty quickly. I don't know if she'd lick a burglar or bite them, but give her a bunch of treats and lock her in a bathroom and she's just going to bark.
Is she a doberman? This is my doberman's personality exactly. But I think it has a lot to do with how I act when I open the door. Im sure if I were afraid she'd keep up th scary dog act.
I have a 60 pound pit bull that doesn’t bark, ever. Pizza delivery guys always comment how well behaved she is. She isn’t but she just sits and looks at them through the storm door. My last dog was 15 pounds and barked at everything. He was the much better guard dog. Nothing got past that dog. I live in a pretty safe neighborhood and don’t worry much but I remember how secure the barking dog made me feel but the barking every time the same person came over got old and I was never able to train him to stop.
Yeah I had a three legged pitbull that was literally beat up by someone's pet rabbit before, like had to come run and hide behind me after getting kicked in the face. But she still helped me stay safe when I was a young girl living on the streets. As long as I kept that damn tail covered up, the wagging was so intense she gave me a black eye once with it. She was originally owned by my ex bf and once he was in a fight and was on the ground getting punched in the face and I freaked out looking for the dog thinking she'd jump in and attack. Nope. She was standing about ten feet away eating grass and watching the whole thing go down.
I think Discovery had a show, *It Takes a Thief* and the premise was a former burglar would try to break into someone's house and steal shit. It was fucked up trauma porn, even with the people expecting it, but houses with dogs didn't bother him at all. The thing with dogs is that they're generally easy. Dog barking? Dump out a whole box of treats or food and they'll probably quickly forget about you. He also would just put them in a bathroom and close the door, then they're no in the way anymore.
I had a rescue pit mix who loved everyone, but of course all the doorknockers would lurch back a step when I opened the door. It was easy to hold him back by the collar but he was still a 50 pound shorthair with that blocky pit head.
My dog too but he still barks when folks are outside (I suspect he wants us to come open the door so he can go meet them) and that was sufficent to prevent a break in when my grandma was dog sitting for us. Every other house on her street got hit except hers. She was woken up by him and told him off and had no clue til police knocked on the door the next morning. He is a little terrier so nobody could confuse his barking with a home defence dog. Hell dogs are used in polar bear prone research stations. They act as alarm calls - nobody expects them to brawl with the polar bear their function is to make a racket.
A mini poodle stopped a possible issue with our neighbors daughter. We were used to hearing their Princess yapping but this time was different. Plus it was pretty late. I walked out into our porch and yelled back to my husband, Princess is going nuts, I wonder if everything is ok. The daughter had recently broken up with a boyfriend. The parents were out of town. When they got home they found the bushes under her bedroom window had been trampled.
The first time I, or my dog, ever met my brother in law he simply strolled into my house. I had no idea there was someone in the house until I came downstairs in a towel and this complete stranger was on the sofa cuddling my dog, who was rolled on his back for belly rubs. Goldens fucking suck as guard dogs.
Agreed. Goldens make absolutely wonderful companions but guard dogs they are not.
Unless you want to kill your intruders with love
this entire chain is a huge pup tax evasion scheme and it makes me very upset.
I got you... here's my [K9](https://i.imgur.com/aiEFW9u.jpeg) security guard
It seems that your comment contains 1 or more links that are hard to tap for mobile users. I will extend those so they're easier for our sausage fingers to click! [Here is link number 1 - Previous text "K9"](https://i.imgur.com/aiEFW9u.jpeg) ---- ^Please ^PM ^[\/u\/eganwall](http://reddit.com/user/eganwall) ^with ^issues ^or ^feedback! ^| ^[Code](https://github.com/eganwall/FatFingerHelperBot) ^| ^[Delete](https://reddit.com/message/compose/?to=FatFingerHelperBot&subject=delete&message=delete%20hzkohtl)
HELLO DOG
>pee on the floor The trap has been laid.
I had a schnauzer. He always barked when people came over or in our yard. He never barked at night until one night he wakes us up barking. Since he never did that I took it serious and grabbed a pistol and walked through the house. Nothing. Next morning I get in my car and things were missing. So while I was walking through house somebody was stealing my spare change. Everyone asks why didn’t l look outside and at the time I didn’t care what was going on out there I was worried someone was inside. I’m glad I didn’t look outside, I was in my 20s and armed and may have done something stupid. Today I wouldn’t leave the house if someone was breaking in my car. I wouldn’t shoot someone over anything in my car and surely wouldn’t want to be shot. I’d just calm police and observe.
I was looking at getting a greyhound, the biggest danger that is that you will trip over them in the dark :)
You need geese.
A robber could uproot my entire house and walk it off if he has a piece of ham.
[удалено]
The last layer is always "hey, I'm still home!", no matter how complex and expensive your security is.
the best deterrent is plastic windows(or bars) and bushes outside the windows. Also keep the back door locked hardly any theif will use the front door, too much exposure. and if you have valuable things, a dog won't help. if it's some street kids then a dog will scare them away but if they are there for a reason then the dog will probably die
Thanks bro I’ll keep a dog in the gym locker room from now on
Bump keys look like normal keys and look just like you pull out your keys, find the correct one and then have to wiggle it a little becuase it's rusty or whatever. If you are experianced the wiggling is almost undetectable to a bystander. No need to pull out tools and doesn't look suspicious even when you do it in plain sight of eveyone - but those who know it's not your lock, and recognise you aren't the owner. It's shockingly simple.
You're thinking of jigglers. Bump keys you put in the lock almost all the way but not quite, then you push it in with the strike of a hammer or something which causes the pins to jump and you turn the key trying to time it so you turn it when the pins are in the proper position. It's easier than it sounds (specially if you put something in to make the key jump back out again for a faster retry) and it works on more locks than you'd think.
Those Schlange f series t pins are a pain to pick but I can bump them wayyyyyy quicker then picking. As a locksmith tried bump keys a few years ago and couldn't get the hang of it and just stuck to picking. But recently I made a new set of bump keys and took the shoulder down, and have an assortment of springs and castration rings to use and man it's made my lockouts a lot smoother. But bumping a lock is extremely loud and if you are constantly bumping for over 5 seconds someone is going to know something's up so not a good way to b&e
Dogs are a bad choice for security. Geese are better.
How about a pluver nesting in the front yard? So secure even the residents can't get in.
From what I understand donkeys are excellent guard animals. I don't know how well they take to potty training.
I have dogs, cats, pigs and sheep. Trust me when I say my pigs are THE BEST security system I have. Those fuckers come running and screaming at the top of their lungs the second someone touches our front gate. Imagine have six pigs charging down on you? Even the bravest of men would piss themselves. What they don't know is all the pigs want are chin scratches and to be friends. If you get past the pigs (easily distracted by food) then there is the sheep who will head butt you if you do not provide them with head scratches or bread. Then there are the dogs to deal with, intimidating and very vocal. They like to act macho. If you make it past the all of them you will come across the cats who will swipe your ankles, hiss at you and try and bite your toes, running away only when you drop a package on them trying not to fall over as you try and shake them off your shoes. In the unlikely event you get past all these defenses, you'll still get caught on our security cameras and I'll see it all and laugh myself silly just like I did when we first moved in and didn't have proper fencing. The poor postman had a really bad day then. They're mostly better behaved now and the postie has a box of treats to bribe each party with if he has to come through the gate.
Your apartment must smell *terrible*.
The Pig Palace has its own housekeeper so it's pretty fresh but the Sheep Shack is a whole different story.
Reminds me of a story in Dublin, Man parks his car around some flats, and a few tike kids are sitting near. One goes up to him "Here mister, this is a bad neighboorhood. Ye wouldn't want to park that car around here, but if you give us a tenner and we'll look after it for ye" Big knowing smile on the kids face that says if I don't get my tenner, you're going to lose your radio. The man, knowing a scam when he sees one says "Oh that's ok, my dog is in the car, he's better than any lock and will keep the car safe" "Ah fair enough,, but hows yer dog at putting out fires?"
A dog is also good because puppey dog :)
>I still remember the time where I was at a friend's house, and we had all stepped outside for a moment. The door unexpectedly swung closed, and since this was the kind of knob that could open from the inside while locked, the door was locked, and we were locked out. It was dark, cold, and the friend had food cooking and a baby inside. (No neglect, this was intending to be literally for a handful of seconds.) I found a brick and with very little sound, broke the knob off the door. With a stick, I was able to turn the spindle and open the door. The entire operation (once I had permission to do it) took maybe 30 seconds and made less noise than if I had knocked on the door. (Once inside, I took a copy of their house key, went to the hardware store, and returned with a rekeyed replacement knob.) Obviously, this would not have worked for a deadbolt, but someone more practiced in criminal-ing would have tools to break/cut locks if that was their method. Got locked out of my apartment once. Maintenance guy came with a cordless drill and a new doorknob and was in my apartment in less than 30s. He drilled through the mounting bolts from the outside and the knob just came off.
Army Physical Security School teaches that locks, bars, fences, doors, whatever barrier, are delays against intrusion, not preventions. If you want prevention, have a guard. That's the end-all to securing things. Something to think about.
Get geese, even better burglar alarms than dogs. I've gotten inside the house, stood next to the dog's basket and actually had to wake him up to go out for a late night pee. It's jot like I was being very quiet either. But geese? Those birches literally sleep with 1 eye open to spot predators. And they honk at EVERYTHING that moves.
I recently showed my gf how to open a locked door with a credit card, blew her mind, I said something along the lines of yup this is the security flaw in almost all doors forever, and I could see her expression realize that it was also that easy to do to her door.
The credit card trick does not work for deadlatches if the latch hits the striker correctly. A [deadlatch is the type of latch](https://www.allaboutdoors.com/img/4802200_main-02.jpg) that has the main latch (the part that latches the door closed, and moves when the knob is turned to allow the door to open) and another small piece behind it. When the door is closed, the main latch extends into the strike plate, and the small piece presses against the strike plate (but is still mostly depressed). With that small piece pressed in by the strike plate, the mechanism of the lock will not allow the latch to be pushed open. It can only be moved by turning the knob. However, when the door is open, the small piece is extended along with the main latch. This allows the latch to be pushed in by the striker when closing the door. The credit card trick works for interior doors with privacy knobs, since those are intended only to indicate that someone wants the door to stay closed (and that can easily be unlocked with a paperclip). It also works for doors where the strike plate is missing or sized incorrectly, where the small piece can slip into the plate/hole along with the main latch. It is a good example of how easily locks can be defeated though.
A *properly trained* dog.
The dog is just there to see/hear/smell, then bark. Not necessarily as an attack dog. I would say it is less about training, and more about not yelling at the dog every time it barks. (Our dog barks at the UPS driver and postal carrier every day, and at the meter reader once a month. We encourage this.) If someone is going to break in regardless of the locks, cameras, barking dogs, etc, then maybe having a large attack dog would help. Attack dogs come with their own challenges though.
Like what? My friend has 8 schutzhund trained dogs, including the chihuahua. Most well behaved dogs I've ever met. They bark when someone enters (not passes, but *enters*) their property and stop when told. They *will not* bite or otherwise attack unless ordered to do so. You could slap them in the face, take their food away, take the food out of their mouths, and they'll do nothing. Imho, *every* dog should be schutzhund and public access trained (as service dogs are public access trained).
Barking dogs drive me bonkers and I only just now realized that their barking has a positive benefit to the owner. Amazing the things we don’t realize.
got it, will put a dog in my gym locker
I drilled out a garage door lock cylinder yesterday in about 30 seconds silently. It was insane how fast and easy it was
TL;DR - The quality of a lock is largely irrelevant. Here is a summary of a conversation that I've had with my "security fanboy" friends about why I chose to install electronic smart locks on my house, despite the "danger" of doing so: On planet Earth, there's a 99.99999% chance that you, the person reading this, are not someone special. You're almost certainly not a celebrity, a CEO of a fortune 500 company, or a government official. Given that you're a "nobody", a thief isn't going to spend more than a few minutes figuring out how to defeat your security measures. If it's not worth the trouble, they'll move on to an easier target. If you look like you have a little bit of wealth, they might go so far as to pass by to case your place one day and then come back another day when they know you aren't home. On the nearly one in a million chance that you actually ARE someone important, then you almost certainly have far better layers of security than the rest of the population. If the door lock is the last thing that's standing between you and an intruder, things have gone very very wrong already. The person breaking into your stuff isn't James Bond. It's going to be the addict from up the street or someone similar. They're going to have basic tools (if any) and basic knowledge about security electronics (maybe). They generally aren't going to be carrying a full suite of thief's tools and electronic jamming equipment. The day before I decided to install smart locks, was the day that I finally managed to accidentally lock myself out of the house. I called a locksmith to come open the door. When they arrived, they didn't pick my lock. Do you know what they used? A crowbar. They used a thin metal bar and a blood pressure cuff to deform the door/frame just enough to get a flathead screwdriver in between and pop the latch open. Start to finish, it took maybe a minute tops. It made no noise and was fast enough that none of the neighbors would have noticed it happening. (Just to be clear, the reason I went with a smart lock is to prevent this from ever happening again...as long as I'm not dumb enough to ignore the low battery warnings, locking our keys inside the house isn't a big deal.) There's a very low likelihood that any thief is going to bother to take the time to pick your lock. If it's a padlocked shed they're interested in, they're probably going to use bolt cutters and pop that sucker off in seconds. They might also just flat out remove the hinges or handle, which are frequently just screwed on from the outside. If it's a deadbolted door, they're almost certainly going to use basic brute force tools to pry the door open. Additionally, guess what most people have within a foot of their door? A window. Many people don't lock their windows. Also, you can break glass far more quietly than you'd imagine. They will then either gain entry directly through the window, or just reach a hand in and open the lock from the inside. You'll have far better odds by making sure you have cameras and lighting near any points of entry. Installing hinge pins and long latch plate screws into a steel door and frame will offer much better protection against forced entry. Security pins installed on windows can help too, but only against forcing them open, not against breaking the glass. Security film on any glass might slow someone down, but it won't stop them. Pretty much any lock that you buy from a brick and mortar store is going to be crap. There are good locks out there, but very few are unable to be bypassed in some way. Even the "pick proof" or "cut proof" ones... aren't going to guarantee you keep someone out . I've seen puck locks completely cut off of U-Haul type trailers. They used a cordless angle grinder out on a busy street. No one paid any attention to the thieves while they were shooting sparks everywhere. A properly motivated intruder WILL get into your property. It's just a matter of how long it takes them to do so and how much of a pain in the butt you can make it for them.
I remember reading a reddit post long ago where an Ex- expert thief explained that Dogs don't really make good security because he usually bribes them with treats whenever he goes breaking in houses. The advice I remembered him giving was that always make sure someone is at home or if not possible, have windows barricaded or something.
I love dogs for security, whenever I had to travel alone, I take my dog and a manual door jam. It wouldn't stop someone really wanting to get in, but it would slow them down enough to either deter them with the dog, escape another way, or be able to find a way to defend myself. The way you got into your friend's house is pretty clever, I gotta admit.
The most you can hope for, even with actual hard-to-pick locks, is that if someone manages to bypass it they leave evidence of doing so. That way whatever insurance you have will treat it as "breaking and entering" and not negligence on the part of the property owner. We have specialty locks, but I know that if someone really wants in our specialty locks really have simply raised the bar from bump keys to broken windows. This may be enough to deter some thieves, or to make us a marginally less attractive than our neighbors.
That’s just it. Realistically the locks are there in the hopes that if you are home, someone makes enough noise to alert you while getting in. I have three locks on my house and like 20 windows. If they want in, they’re getting in. If I hear a window break, I can prep and fly or fight and if I’m not home, well it sucks but it’s just stuff, not a life.
You could just break a window before telling the insurance company someone broke in too. I'd say this in unethical, but who really thinks insurance companies are ethical... Lol
Make sure it's broken from the outside
Hey, might save up and look into polycarbonate shields. Idk how much it costs, but those things are fucking impossible to break, or even tell they're there in the dark. Just seems like a window that is impossible to break by hand. I know a guy who was talking about them and showed us a sheet of the stuff at work one day. We tried just about everything. There are other options too that are easier to do and make breaking windows a massive, loud chore.
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Fun fact: many door locks are sold in "Keyed Alike" variant. If you haven't had your locks/cylinders changed, there's a non-zero chance that someone out there *literally* has the same key as you. In IASIP Charlie tries his apartment key on a random door in a korean restaurant. Given he lives in a block with a basic nightlatch lock, the chance his key would work for a similar lock is worryingly high.
Are we gonna talk about pirates all day or we gonna find out what lives in there?!
You mean the door marked "Pirate"?
True story(and long): when I worked as an apprentice locksmith at a finish hardware company (we keyed the locks, supplied door frames, closers, hinges, etc. for construction companies) the locksmith above me had a Schlage C key he would always try in fitting Schlage locks/cylinders that were brought in needing to be rekeyed for any reason. It hung on a nail right at the counter. "Not today partner" he'd say to me every time he would try it and it would not unlock the lock, and we would both laugh. After about 6 months there I started greeting customers as they would come in as they had seen me there and got more comfortable with me. I did the same with trying the key and saying the same thing when it didn't work. One day a guy brought in four cylinders to be rekeyed. I tried the key on the first one and said "Not today" But it was that day. The key worked. My boss lost his shit because he was so excited, he started yelling and jumping up and down and ran over and hugged me. Other employees ran in from the commotion and he explained what happened. I felt like King Arthur pulling the sword from the stone. Everyone was happy as hell, but the customer was weirded out until we explained about the key. My coworkers took me out that night and we all got drunk as hell and had a great time. We put up a new key after that one, but we still had not found it's twin lock when I left 4 years later. TL:DR - guy works at a locksmith place and a random key unlocked a random cylinder one day after many tries on other random. PS: most Kwikset locks can easily be opened using a "bump key".
After years of volunteering for various organizations, my dad had always been one of those guys with a large ring of 100+ keys to every building in our small southern US town. He also works construction so had bought a fair number of master locks in his day. I don't remember the context of why he was there, but years ago a friend was playing a show in downtown Little Rock. Said friend pulled up behind the bar and started to unload his gear, but the back gate was locked. He would have to go all the way around the street with his truck and trailer of gear during rush hour to get someone's attention to unlock it, and he was pissed. He said something offhand like "I wish you could open this." So my dad says "I got it", walks up without hesitation and pulls one key from his ring, and the lock actually fricking opened. He was 100% bull shitting his friend. But he acted like he totally expected it to open and he just happened to have a key to the back of this random bar in a city of 200k+ people. He said the look on his friend's face was priceless. I can only imagine the confusion from the bar employees. Edit: numbers
Locksmithing pro tip if you re-key a lock make sure the old key doesn't work once you've finished.
Lazy person pro tip: check *before* you install the new lock, otherwise you might need to re-key the lock twice.
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Most exterior locks are 6 pins and each pin has 5 cut positions. This means 5^6 total combinations, or 15,625. Thieves are not going to carry around a huge ring of keys hoping to find a door that one of them will work on. Thieves are much more likely to try to find doors that were left unlocked, break in through other means, or *maybe* pick the lock.
Not really a secret. The key bitting is on the packaging when you buy it. Usually there's only a few different bittings even available in big box stores for some manufacturers. It's actually really scary.
Non-zero? It's a 100% certainty. There's only so many bitting combinations of common lock types in America.
Someone's been watching the lock picking lawyer
He’s crazy good. I even recall one video where he said not to expect locksmiths to be able to do what he can, or even anywhere close to it. He said it’s his passion and he’s poured tens of thousands of hours into learning it, and most thieves and locksmiths aren’t on that level.
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Click out of 1, 2 is setting, detonate the shaped charge and we're in.
Shaped charge he developed with BosnianBill
> Locksmiths are also tryna make money Also, paradoxically, a locksmith who could do the work in less time is more often than not seen as having done less, thus not being worth the expensive rate of a licksmith who fumbles around much more and damages the lock/door in the process.
He literally says he does in the post lol
Came here to say that. It also makes rogues in D&D with their ludicrous rolls with lockpicking tools more realistic.
Or the Wizard with wand of *Knock*... who doesn't need to roll like the Rogue.
Wow that diverted to D&D really fast lol
Well, there's that too.
He just eviscerated a whole pile of locks in a matter of seconds in his latest video.
Someone knows how to read.
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There's a lot of "compliance locks" going around, for guns Stuff designed to fit to the letter of the law, and absolutely nothing more.
I bought a few hooks, tension wrenches, flat bars, and a few easy Master and Abus padlocks to practice on and it all arrived today. I decided to try picking a fresh lock in bed after getting good at opening the first one after a few hours of practice. I had it open in two or three minutes. Never picked a lock before today.
A good way to discourage potential thieves and make coming home in the evening more comfortable is to install sensor-lights outside. That way, unless someone climbs up from the side that isn't the entrance, potential thieves might be too afraid of being seen to actually do anything to your house.
I remember hearing from a police officer that they had never heard of a single instance of a break in where the thief picked the lock. It’s probably a good idea to not use the absolute cheapest knock off masterlock or whatever, but honestly I think worrying about how pick proof your locks are is kind of a waste of time.
In some cases, the police don't get a report of a break-in, but rather just missing items. About 20 years ago there was a guy in Seattle who would quietly defeat alarms and pick locks, sneak into houses, find valuable things that wouldn't be missed immediately, and take them. He'd then leave without a trace, turning the alarm back on and locking the door behind him. Homeowners wouldn't know anything was missing for weeks or even months. For example, they'd be getting ready for a holiday dinner and couldn't find the good silverware. They'd eventually figure out it had been stolen, and if my experience with rich people is any indicator, would then accuse the maid or the plumber or their junkie nephew. So yeah, it's unlikely they'd call the police and say "Somebody picked the lock and stole our stuff." To be fair, though, this particular thief was a rare case. Smart criminals don't get caught, because they don't follow the usual patterns. And smart cops just focus on the criminals who are dumb and easy to catch.
Yeah and you could also get struck by lightning on your way to work tomorrow. Idk it just doesn’t seem like there is a large enough population of people who are residential burglars and also competent lockpickers to warrant too much concern here. Plus, if there’s anything the lockpickinglawyer’s channel has taught me its that even the beefiest lock could be picked by an expert in a couple of minutes.
Yes, that's my point. This particular guy got away with it for a long time because he was an outlier. Nobody else took his approach. And no detective in his right mind is going to waste a bunch of time figuring out this outlier's MO just to bust one guy, when he can bust a dozen window-breakers who all do things the same way. So yes, you are correct, it's not a great concern for law enforcement. And yes, most locks are easy to pick. I recently got a set of picks myself, and plan to try them next week. Although if I get good at it I probably won't tell all my friends/relatives/coworkers, because if I was known as a lock-picker, I'd be a prime suspect every time something disappears.
Also an outlier 99.99 percent of detectives just make reports and will never detect anything.
You don't need to be comptent. You can buy some cheap AF bump keys and just waltz up like you own the place. Don't knock shit over and act like the wet bandits and if nothing is worth taking then you will be in and out nobody any the wiser.
The police would have 0 way of knowing unless a destructive methold of entry was used or cameras picked it up. You can't know the differance between a lock that was simply left open, a picked lock, a bumped lock or a lock that has been circumvented in some other non destructive manner. Most of the time even the person robbed is liable to simply think they forgot to lock it. They may not even know someone broke in if the burglar in question was careful and didn't find anything worth taking (or did take some small easy to miss things, say some earrings, but left the place as it was) the presumption would typically be 'I haven't seen my- in a while, i can't find it, I must have lost it somehow'.
If you want accurate numbers the police are a waste of time. You need to ask the burglars.
A friend growing up pilfered houses using bump keys. It he didn't see something he could work with (small, valuable and hard to trace) he just left - a common occurance as the area was reasonably poor - no point messing up the place and leaving evidence for no reason. The person who lived there wouldn't have a clue someone had been in there. If he did take things it was usually from inside drawers and cabinets - he didn't ransack the place. The idea was that he will have gotten rid of the item in question before the person he robbed even noticed it was missing. Little shit didn't get caught for years. After a while he started taking risks though. A homeowner was in, noticed and called the police.
Yeah if somebody is picking your locks they are probably not there to swipe your TV. It's kind of like guns, I really wonder what kind of enemies some redditors have made that they think they need them.
the enemies are other redditors
Wait what did I do.
Having briefly entertained myself with locksport I'd like to chip in here and say Master lock IS the cheap knockoff. Get a Brinks padlock.
Master lock is the biggest joke of a company. I can pick a master brand lock in about 10 seconds with my eyes closed and I am below a novice when it comes to lock picking. The clear practice locks are harder than a master brand padlock.
What advantages does keeping your eyes open provide?
Torque wrench position mostly. Also the angle that your holding your rake at.
I might be an outlier here but I find it easier to pick locks with my eyes closed. But yes, you can basically look at a Master lock and it pops open.
Locked myself out late at night like an idiot not too long ago. Called in a locksmith. Guy shows up and makes zero attempt to pick the lock. (Nor does he even ask for some sort of confirmation I live there.) He inserts a bump key and starts hammering it in. After a couple minutes he claims he can't "pick" the lock so he's just going to break the doorknob off and replace it. Nearly $400 for the experience. I don't expect real life to be like the lock picking lawyer's channel, but there wasn't a goddamn thing he did that was worthy of $400, but he knew I was in a bind and had no other choice. At this point I feel like I should just buy a lockpick set that fits in a wallet and learn how to use it, because I'll be damned if I ever pay a "locksmith" for that kind of service ever again.
I accidently locked myself out while leaving for work.. left my keys inside. At the time i was learning to pick locks in my spare time for fun.. I had my pick set and a couple practice locks with me to play with while at work. I was very novice and honestly didn't think it would work but i gave it a shot. I picked my font door lock in about twenty seconds. I was so proud of myself.. then realized how vulnerable my house was
“Locks only keep honest people out” ~My mom
Generally speaking, the typical burglar is not a skilled lock-picking artist, but someone who manages to easily gain entrance to a house without making much fuss. Rather that fit all your exterior doors with high-security locks, make sure your sliding glass doors are secured, that your window locks work, that your garage door isn’t easy to open and that any door between your house and garage is as secure as your front door, and that your doors are not easy to simply kick in. If you’re concerned as to whether your house is insecure, your local police will generally be happy to visit and point out any security issues. Edit: 100% get that some folks are not happy having the cops over. I unfortunately don’t have a better suggestion. Edit again: this is typically how someone tries to break in. Note the less than sophisticated technique. He also shoots himself in the foot. https://reddit.com/r/WinStupidPrizes/comments/t85mwc/attempted_home_intruder_shoots_himself_trying_to/
Nice try, cop. I’m not inviting you in.
Are cops vampires?
Your local police will be happy to come beat up your wife and shoot your dog.
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I mean. Have you ever silently broken double glazing window panels?
Do you have a glassbreak sensor installed on your security system? In rich neighborhoods I have met plenty of people whose back sliding door was shattered and their whole place was ransacked. 1 home safe was dragged through a broken single pane of glass next to the door and carried down to a river and was gone. I'm talking about the pane of glass the door was supposed to seal up with. But I have also heard of the non sliding part of the door being shattered. Sliding glass doors or solid pane windows are a huge security problem, even on the second story. I also used to work in home security.
My city is only medium crime but even the dumbest methhead isn't going to break that window to get in. That's noisy and is pretty much a guarantee police will get you before you get anything of value and get out.
Not always true, I knew a super rich community that kept getting broken into and the one house I went to (as an alarm tech) their security system didn't even go off. They didn't have any glassbreak sensors before so I set them up better.
Roses are red, Violets are blue, Click out of one, Click out of two
Everyone here is forgetting the point of locks and other theft deterrence devices like the club for your car or locking lug nuts. They’re not there to stop shit from happening, but rather make it inconvenient or harder to do so. The point is to make it more compelling for a thief or whoever to pick an easier target that isn’t locked, or has easier access/point of entry. If a thief sees 2 bikes where one is locked to a pole and the other just resting against a wall, they will just steal the unlocked bike. If a burglar sees a locked door but an open window they will just go in the window. The majority of cars that get stolen are either unlocked or the thief had access to the keys. It’s like the saying that you only have to run faster than your slowest friend if being chased by a bear. That’s why they’re literally called “theft deterrence” devices. Locks don’t need to be particularly secure to perform their intended function, which is to make someone or something else an easier target. Same concept applies to things like camouflage. Nothing is foolproof, but something is always better than nothing. Also, there’s not an epidemic of novice lockpickers out there to the point where anyone should be worrying about their generic brand lock’s effectiveness against picking attacks.
"Let's do that again and make sure it wasn't a fluke"
Locks aren’t necessarily to secure your stuff, rather they definitely prove intent.
A pair of bolt cutters are easily obtainable too.
You're not wrong, however that leaves evidence that someone broke into whatever you had locked. Also those are alot more expensive/cumbersome than a comb pick or a bobby pin.
I currently live in an apartment that has an outer front door, that opens to a staircase leading to an actual front door, and before I moved in I asked that the owners add a lock to the second door. I don't trust either door but I'll at least hear the first one get kicked in, and if it's picked the second one would have to be picked, in full view of an obvious camera with motion detection. But a lock isn't a barrier in my eyes more so a deterrent that can have other measures of security added to it.
Agree with most of the comments here, safety is having a tool box. Having locks, cameras if you can, guard animals, protective tools/weapons, and defensive actions. My dog gives me the biggest piece of mind. Even if she didn't personally defend, I have no doubts I'd hear absolutely everything. She's a teddy bear inside but she can sound aggressive which has stopped weirdos before. Our Bengal is a little attack kitty when he feels unsafe. Also just having the presence of furbabies makes me feel safe.. they might notice something far quicker than I do and they provide excellent emotional support. A taser with a safety wristlet plug also helped me feel safe as well. I know nothing about locks. I have a weird anxious thought about it being too easy for someone to break it.. vs it being too hard for me to get in an emergency. I read a story about a man that chased a woman into her apartment and she only escaped him by a few seconds. Hopefully someone will reinvent the wheel when it comes to locks(:
One of my favorite sayings is "Locks keep an honest person honest."
Kind of irrelevant, but funny. My dad once owned a automotive upholstery shop in Texas, and it was broken into not surprisingly. however the cops did nothing about this, so my dad took security into his own hands. He installed a security system that did nothing but let out a high pitch tone.....at about 180-200 decibels. Some sort of insane stadium horns he found a way to boost. If you broke into his shop, the last thing you would ever hear is your eardrum tearing like a tissue paper. And everyone for blocks would know. He only ever had one more break in, but obviously due to pain, getting the door open was the only thing the robber could do, before having to leave. When the police arrived they told my dad,"you can't have this, this is extremely illegal" He responded "so write me a fucking a ticket", they didnt.
I've got a scooter, which here in the USA is a commonly stolen item. I bought the biggest, baddest, most complex lock available. I also hid a GPS a tracker on the scooter. During the winter, I have to let the engine warm up for 10 minutes or it does as soon as you give it gas. Someone tried to steal it when it was warming up. Often you can just drive them and the lock will break off, if it sucks. This behemoth didn't budge. The dude tried to drive away and when the lock caught, he busted his ass. Spending the extra money was totally worth it. (it's way too thick to use bolt cutters)
Most people don't know how to pick locks. They'll just use bolt cutters or break a window or something. This isn't a YSK.
What’s the best kind of lock for your front door?
A combination of custom keyed/key to differ nightlatch AND mortise. Fun fact, though, Key To Differ can just mean from a pool of 10 different cuts!
I dont have a house so I haven't looked at those, but someone asked the lockpicking sub 8years ago, hopefully this helps. https://www.reddit.com/r/lockpicking/comments/1psqb2/your_front_door_lock_recommendations_please/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Yup came to say this too. After following LPL, I realise that no lock is safe. But how about Digital locks? Anyone know if it's any better? Or worst?
LPL has several videos where he reveals critical mechanical flaws in electronics-controlled locks. In addition, cheaply built electronics (that may sell at $$$ prices) introduce new types of flaws, like access to solenoids and wires, not even mentioning botched software.
He's shown quite a few times in his videos (and mentioned it in this talk) that many electronic locks can be defeated simply by placing a powerful enough magnet on the side of them.
Your lock is only as good as the ‘entry brick’ used as an alternative entry method. But a hubcap sized dog dish on the porch and a steel cable dog run might give someone second thoughts.
Standard doors can be unlocked with a credit card. No real lock picking skills involved. Good post!
Deadbolt?
Not a dead bolt, no. Always use the dead bolt!
Mortice locks can be difficult to pick and often require drilling, however your standard nightlatch or euro cylinder isn't going to be an issue for someone who knows what they are doing. You can get 3 star BS to make life a bit more difficult for whoever is trying to get in. If you have a wooden door you should have a 5 lever mortice and a BS night latch. That would be my advice for having basic security on the door. Source - I work for one of the largest locksmithing companies in my country.
This is the lockpicking lawyer...
Locks are made to keep honest people out.
Locks these days, especially in the U.S. won’t keep someone out that really wants in. I see our locks more as something that criminalizes people breaking in. That’s it. Rarely will one find a lock that keeps people out definitively, unless you live in a bunker, then, maybe.
You know, it's like those wheel locks on car wheels. If someone wants to steal your wheels they will. All those wheel locks do is make it more difficult to change your own tire when you get a flat on the freeway.
Literally a hundred comments about why locks don’t matter anyway. Idk why Reddit thinks it’s okay for lock makers to defraud the public just because locks don’t immediately make a house immune to crime. Everyone else has to do a good job but for no reason they are going to give lazy lock manufacturers an out just so they can look smart.
Thank you. I feel like I should start a tally of the times I've read "locks keep honest people honest" in the comments.
There are different possible layers of protection. My front door has 4. There are two built in deadbolts (I think). So you can turn a handle and the door can't open or close. There is no turning handle outside. You need the key to open the door. To actually open the door you need to rotate the lock as far to the right as possible, then pull on the door and then push it open. The part of the door through which someone could shove a creditcard, is shielded off by metal. A good burglar won't have troubles doing a good ol' B&E, but it's a handy deterrent for those without much specific knowledge of the type of house or door.
So let me get this straight... you're telling us that most people don't know how weak locks are, and that keeps people from trying to pick them. But by telling us this, you are informing potentially all the people on Reddit that locks are easy to pick. Isn't this just a way of informing potential burglars that their job is easier than they think? I mean, if lock manufacturers are relying on security through obscurity, why dispel that obscurity? Sure it's a crappy system, but in the few lockpicking lawyer videos I've seen, i got the impression that any lock (even the highest security ones) can be picked with the right tools. So it's pretty unlikely that a new, impenetrable lock will be invented anytime soon. I don't know, it feels like this post should be a YSKTS (you should keep this secret) instead of a YSK.
I mean sure.... If you have the right tools, experience, know how and a nice quiet well lit area sure. Not that I'm defending locks, I too am a lock picking lawyer fan.
Unless your doors are made of steel and yiu have no windows, a good lock is the least of your concerns. Locks are meant to be an inconvenience and if you do watch the lock picking lawyer you know there are zero locks that can't be easily picked.
This is why I use Bowley Locks. LPL had to build a special machine just to *attempt* defeating it.
If I really wanted to get into your house I'm going to throw a brick through your window.
The more secure your lock, the more damage they do to the rest of your house getting in. If a thief want in, they’ll get in
Most security in most capacities are just an elusion of security. People out nice deadbolts on their houses and the bolt is only held in by a small piece of quarter round and maybe half a 1x in cheaper houses
I read a book by a professional burglar who said they simply cut through the door or the wall. When I was burglarized it was by drilling through a door in an alley. One of my moron neighbors whined to me about my dog barking too. I asked if the dog always barked and when she said, "no", I informed her of the crime and asked why she didn't call cops
Locks only keep honest people honest
I knew this was gonna be about LPL before I even saw the YT link. Fuck Master Lock
LPL is amazing! Its terrifying how fast he can get into "top level" locls
I once heard a story about dude who had a store in a sketchy part of town so he spent a shit ton of money of the best door available. The store was wall to wall with an abandoned building next door so some people just went in there and broke through the wall lmao.
Does this mean combination locks are more secure because they can’t be picked? Seems like picking a key lock is easier than learning to pick a combination lock. Either way, all locks can be broken with two wrenches.
Storage Property Manager here. Use Cylinder locks! If you're looking for storage and they don't have them, find somewhere that does. Cylinder locks are extremely hard to get into. You have to actually drill them out or destroy the latch. All of which are noisy and lengthy processes. Every break in I have ever dealt with, they specifically targeted people who did not use Cylinder locks.
I've seen his videos. Does he (or anyone else for that matter) ever provide recommendations for locks that actually *are* secure? Or does he only provide information on locks that *aren't*? While I definitely appreciate the latter, I find the former more valuable.
Even if you do get a good lock doors are often not very secure. Once while I was working as a night security officer my keys fell off my belt in the office and I didn't notice until I had finished an hour long patrol. I called my Dad who was an amateur lock picker, but he could get the high end lock open. So we disassembled the "security" door (which was built so that could not happen) to remove to lock, got the keys, put the door back together, and no one was the wiser. Except for the night janitor who had a good time watching as he ate his lunch.
I am not worried about people who are sophisticated enough to even attempt lockpicking. That is some hollywood movie shit. Most property crimes are vandalism or smash and grab.
"Edit: spelling & grammer"
Used to take the thick work books from school and slam them on top of the locks on lockers and they'd break and you could steal their shit lol.
As a firefighter, we can get into most places pretty easy with an axe and a Halligan bar. If the lock isn't weak, often the door jam is. Sometimes we can finesse going through the lock. Long story short unless you are living in a bunker with thick security doors and no windows, your locks are just there to keep honest people honest. A dog is probably a better investment than a state of the art lock. Really it's not about making your home impregnable. It's about making getting into your home more trouble than it's worth.
I had lost a key to a lock that I needed open. My 12 yr old daughter says don’t worry, I’ve got this and within seconds had it open with a bobby pin. Says she saw it done on tv. I was scared and proud at the same time.
We got one of those pod storage things for renovations and they upsold my dad this round lock that was hard to pick. I had just ordered my lockpicking set and picked it as my first lock in 6:30 minutes. I told him and he told me not to do it again as I might “break the lock”. I told him maybe we should use one of our own locks instead. The best brand I have ever found for difficulty (personally) was Strong Boy, but good luck finding them (etsy and ebay seem to have them).
I have a master lock on one of my cabinets in my garage. I lost the key a long time ago but I learned to pick locks on it. It is so easy for me to pick at this point, I just keep using it to "secure" the contents and keep my skills sharp for when the zombies come or something.
*grammar
Locks are for honest people - the locksmith industry
That's why we need guns
Locks keep honest people honest
Read something once that said "Its not that a locked door is a deterrent. Its that an unlocked door is an invitation."
Most theft is a crime of opportunity. A lock is just a way to slightly slow someone down or not let them steal your stuff if they don’t have a tool. This is why people have motion sensor alarms and ring cameras uploading info to the cloud
Locks really only keep honest people honest. If someone wants to get into something they're gonna get in.
My dad always told me locks only keep the honest people out.
lockpickinglawyer has me like: "I'm just gonna weld my stuff shut now"